Bot of the month
The Bot of the month contest or BOTM is a robot building contest started by former site owner, ACAMS, on Gametechmods. Builders participate in different categories by building robots and creating attractive images for display purposes (otherwise known as splashes).
History
Originally, ACAMS gave criteria for each month with the single most voted entry being posted onto GameTechMod's main page. BotM was discontinued in January 2014 due to lack of interest. Hosted by Trovaner between November 2014 and June 2016. From July 2016 hosted by Meganerdbomb and has degenerated into a total memefest before hosting duties were transferred to Philippa in early 2018.
Starting from May 2018, FOTEPX made a new BOTM, which featured bots from various metas of RA2, such as Stock, DSL, Ironforge, Custom, and Replica. The DSL Meta is further divided into DSL-IRL "Chassis focused," "extenderbots," and "DSL-S", while other custom parts are merged into the Replica class.
BOTM was soon turned to the New BOTM format, starting from New BOTM-September 2018, which features four different categories: DSL-IRL Chassis focused, DSL-IRL Extenderbots, Unrealistic/Standard, and Custom (which also features replicas). Though for the first two New BOTM, there were only three categories: DSL-IRL, Standard/Unrealistic, and Custom, due to both DSL-IRL chassis focused and DSL-IRL Extenderbots being merged into one category as a result of one category not reaching the minimum required entries to be eligible for separate category. The winning bot of each category is also displayed on the front page by randomly changing splash, which changes when the front page is reloaded, displaying one category winner at a time.
Past Winners
| # | Month | Mod | Weightclass | AdditionalRestriction(s) | Winner(s) | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | May 2008 | DSL 2.1 | HW | None | Naryar | Iron Mayhem (VS) |
| 2 | June 2008 | DSL 2.1 | LW | None | 70 CUDA | Maverickv4 (VS) |
| 3 | July 2008 | DSL 2.1 | MW | Rammer | R0B0SH4RK | Fuerza (Rammer) |
| 4 | August 2008 | Stock 1.3 | MW | Rammer | Venko | Cotidis Nitida (Rammer) |
| 5 | September 2008 | Stock 1.3 | MW | Hammer | Sage | MC Hammer (Hammer) |
| 6 | October 2008 | Anything | Any | None | somestrangeguy | 2 Fast 4 U (Rammer/SnS) |
| 7 | November 2008 | Anything | Any | None | Madiaba & Sage | ATOM (Freak) |
| 8 | December 2008 | Anything | Any | Christmas-themed | Clickbeetle | Frosty the Snowbot (Freak) |
| 9 | January 2009 | Stock 1.3 | LW | None | Sage | Tiny Trinity (Trinity SnS) |
| 10 | February 2009 | Stock 1.3 | HW | None | Clickbeetle | Slaying Mantis V (Hammer) |
| 11 | March 2009 | Stock 1.3 | MW | Circular Chassis | Clickbeetle | Chain Reaction (Flail SnS) |
| 12 | April 2009 | Anything | Any | None | Naryar | Deflagration (SnS) |
| 13 | May 2009 | Stock 1.3 | BW | None | Clickbeetle | Redbird of Unhappiness (Chained HS) |
| 14 | June 2009 | Stock 1.3 | AW | None | JoeBlo | Death By Angles (SnS) |
| 15 | July 2009 | Stock 1.3 | HW | Hybrid | Sage | Mongrel (VS/Juggler Hybrid) |
| 16 | August 2009 | DSL 2.1 | HW | Popup | JoeBlo | Mystery Pyramid (Omni-directional Popup) |
| 17 | September 2009 | Stock 1.3 | MW | VS | Clickbeetle | Hell's Sawmill (Chained VS) |
| 18 | October 2009 | Stock 1.3 | MW | Hammer | JoeBlo | Chocolate (Full Body Hammer) |
| 19 | November 2009 | Stock 1.3 | HW | 2 Plows | JoeBlo | Wrecking Crew (Vertical Clamp) |
| 20 | December 2009 | Anything | Any | Christmas-themed | 123savethewhales | Christmas Reindeers (Artbot) |
| 21 | January 2010 | DSL 2.1 | HW | None | R0B0SH4RK | The Wr3ckoning (Full Body Drum) |
| 22 | February 2010 | Stock 1.3 | MW | VS | Clickbeetle | Proteus (HS/VS Hybrid) |
| 23 | March 2010 | Stock 1.3 | HW | FS | Pwnator | Core Drill (FS) |
| 24 | April 2010 | DSL 2.1 | MW | None | Clickbeetle | Ludicrous Speed (Flipper) |
| 25 | May 2010 | Stock 1.3 | HW | Crawler | JoeBlo | Endless Existence (Crawler) |
| 26 | June 2010 | DSL 2.1 | MW | Triangular Chassis | JoeBlo | Tri-Mangle (Torque Reaction Hammer) |
| 27 | July 2010 | Stock 1.3 | HW | Hybrid with 6 wheel drive | JoeBlo & Sage | Blitzkrieg (Strafing Drum/Wammer) |
| 28 | August 2010 | Anything | Any | None | 123savethewhales | Super Massive Black Hole (Freak) |
| 29 | September 2010 | Stock 1.3 | BW | None | JoeBlo | Dimension (Full Body Clamp) |
| 30 | October 2010 | DSL 2.1 | HW | None | NFX | Flash Bang (Flamethrower) |
| 31 | November 2010 | DSL 2.1 | HW | Military-themed | 123savethewhales & JoeBlo | Siege Tank (Artbot) |
| 32 | December 2010 | Anything | Any | Christmas-themed | Clickbeetle | Gingerbot (Hammer) |
| 33 | January 2011 | Stock 1.3 | HW | Side Hammer | NFX | Viral Sweep (Trinity Side Hammer) |
| 34 | February 2011 | DSL 2.1 | HW | Shell Spinner | NFX | Ion- (Dual Flail Shell Spinner/SnS) |
| 35 | March 2011 | Stock 1.4 | HW | None | Clickbeetle | Ice Phoenix (Artbot/Hammer) |
| 36 | April 2011 | DSL 2.1 | MW | None | Jack Daniels | El Chupacabra (Hammer/Replica) |
| 37 | May 2011 | Stock 1.4 | LW | None | JoeBlo | Engage (Crawler) |
| 38 | June 2011 | Anything | Any | None | NFX | Enterprise (Artbot) |
| 39 | July 2011 | DSL 2.1 | Any | None | NFX | Kart (Artbot) |
| 40 | August 2011 | Stock 1.4 | MW | None | J | GiraffeBot (Artbot) |
| 41 | September 2011 | DSL 2.1 | HW | Hammer Hybrid | Scrap Daddy | Dominant Species (Hammer/Poker) |
| 42 | October 2011 | Stock 1.4 | MW | Crawler with Hax Mode / AAM / BFE allowed | JoeBlo | Stinger (Crawler/Artbot) |
| 43 | November 2011 | DSL 2.1 | Any | Drum | Jack Daniels | Vixen (Drum) |
| 44 | December 2011 | Anything | Any | Christmas-themed | Jack Daniels | SFTW Present (Artbot) |
| 45 | January 2012 | Stock 1.4 | UHW | None | Kurt Wylde | n00bot (Rammer) |
| 46 | February 2012 | DSL 2.1 | Any | 8-Wheeled | Craaig | Shell-B-Gone (Hammer/Sawbot) |
| 47 | March 2012 | Stock 1.4 | LW | None | NFX | Minor Miner (FS) |
| 48 | April 2012 | DSL 2.1 | MW | None | NFX | Shelley (Rammer/Side Hammer/Flamethrower) |
| 49 | May 2012 | Stock 1.4 | BW | None | Fracture | Scout Starship (Poker/Artbot) |
| 50 | June 2012 | DSL 2.1 | AW | None | Clickbeetle | Hailstone (Inertia Powered Lifter) |
| 51 | July 2012 | DSL 2.1 | HW | None | Kurt Wylde | Slideout (Vehicle/Artbot) |
| 52 | August 2012 | Stock 1.4 | MW | None | NFX | Mutant Tricycle (Trinity SnS) |
| 53 | September 2012 | Stock 1.4 | AW | None | NFX | Quark (HS) |
| 54 | October 2012 | Stock 1.4 | HW | None | Pwnator | Predatory Glow (Side Hammer/FS) |
| 55 | November 2012 | DSL 2.1 | LW | None | JoeBlo | Zoid Bot (Side Hammer) |
| 56 | December 2012 | Anything | Any | Christmas-themed | Domanating | Bad Santa (Walker) |
| 57 | January 2013 | Anything | Any | Cannon | Domanating | Bio Cannon (Cannon) |
| 58 | February 2013 | Anything | Any | Train | MassimoV | All Aboard (Pusher/Artbot) |
| 59 | March 2013 | Stock 1.4 | HW | None | Venko | Patient Bear (Crawler) |
| 60 | April 2013 | Stock 1.4 | UHW | None | Venko | The Infinite (Freak) |
| 61 | May 2013 | DSL 3 Beta | MW | None | Clickbeetle | Cloud 9 (Flipper) |
| 62 | June 2013 | Anything | Any | None | Domanating | AT-AT Imperial Walker (Walker/Artbot) |
| 63 | July 2013 | Anything | Any | Aircraft/Spaceship | 123savethewhales | Battlestar Galactica (Artbot) |
| 64 | August 2013 | DSL 3 Beta | HW | Replica | Sonny_Resetti | Worteldriekwadraat (Replica) |
| 65 | September 2013 | Stock 1.4 | LW | None | Lightning S | Robber Fly (FS) |
| 66 | October 2013 | DSL 2.1 | HW | Multi-bot | JoeBlo | Iron Man & War Machine (Strafing Flamethrower) |
| 67 | November 2013 | DSL 2.1 | SHW | Shell Spinner | SKBT | Deathclock (Artbot) |
| 68 | December 2013 | Anything | Any | Christmas-themed | Paranoia | Nuclear Winter (Artbot) |
| 69 | November 2014 | Ironforge 1.0 | MW | None | TBD Devastator | Hammerfury (Tank/Artbot) |
| 70 | December 2014 | Anything | Any | Christmas-themed | RedlineM203 | Toy Racer (Artbot) |
| 71 | January 2015 | DSL 2.1 | HW | None | Thrackerzod | Grande Octo (SnS) |
| 72 | February 2015 | Stock 1.4 | LW | None | Wacky Bob | Clock Cleaner (HS/VS) |
| 73 | March 2015 | Ironforge 1.0 | LW | None | RedlineM203 | Total Control (Servo Turret Hammer) |
| 74 | April 2015 | DSL 3 Beta | MW | None | RedlineM203 | Gravedigger (VS/Flipper) |
| 75 | May 2015 | Stock 1.4 | HW | None | RedlineM203 | Body Pillow (Hammer) |
| 76 | June 2015 | Ironforge 1.0 | MW | None | RedAce | Red Baron (Artbot) |
| 77 | July 2015 | DSL 2.1 | LW | None | MassimoV | Rage (Thwacker) |
| 78 | August 2015 | Stock 1.4 | MW | None | Pwnator | Riiipblade (VS) |
| 79 | September 2015 | Ironforge 1.1 | HW | None | Tashic | Metal Grinder (Drum) |
| 80 | October 2015 | Anything | Any | Halloween-theme | Domanating | Spectre (Artbot) |
| 81 | November 2015 | Anything | Any | None | RedAce | Steel Dragon (Flamethrower/Artbot) |
| 82 | December 2015 | Anything | Any | Christmas-theme | Thrackerzod | Mr. Bones (Artbot) |
| 83 | January 2016 | Stock 1.4 | HW | None | RedAce | Fusion Bomb (Piston Popup) |
| 84 | February 2016 | DSL 2.2 | HW | None | Thrackerzod | Bonemera (Artbot) |
| 85 | March 2016 | Ironforge 1.1 | HW | None | Clickbeetle | Micrathena (Artbot) |
| 86 | April 2016 | Stock 1.4 | MW | 1 Cheatbot2 Part Minimum | Thrackerzod | Magnemite (Artbot) |
| 87 | May 2016 | DSL 2.2 | MW | None | Thyrus | 4 Stegs Down (IRL/Lifter) |
| 88 | June 2016 | RA3 | HW | None | RedlineM203 | Red Giant (Poker) |
| 89 | July / August 2016 | Anything | HW | 4th of July-theme/Brexit theme | Meganerdbomb | America's #Brexit (Trinity Flyer) |
| 90 | September 2016 | Stock 1.4 | MW | Component Freedom Mod Allowed | JoeBlo | Warfare (Strafing Popup) |
| 91 | October 2016 | Ironforge/Retooled | HW | Component Freedom Mod Allowed, Unrealistic | R01 | The Grim Harvester (Clamp/Artbot) |
| 92 | November 2016 | DSL/Retooled | HW | Component Freedom Mod Allowed, Unrealistic | Mr. AS | Chair (Artbot) |
| 93 | December 2016 | Anything | Any | Christmas Themed | DemonOfTomorrow | Special Snowflake Syndrome (HS/Artbot) |
| 94 | January 2017 | Stock | HW | Unrealistic with Trov plz on the splash | 090901 | pomf=3 (38 Iron-Spike HS) |
| 95 | February 2017 | Stock/Retooled | HW | Waifu themed | Thrackerzod | Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Love Machine (Driller/Artbot) |
| 96 | March 2017 | Anything | Any | Face Spinner | Badnik96 | Corpse Feeder (Face Spinner) |
| 97 | April 2017 | DSL | HW | IRL | Tashic | Soundwave (HS Bar Spinner) |
| 98 | May 2017 | Anything | Any | Meme themed | Mazakari | SFTW RW: AOD Edition (Saw bot) |
| 99 | June 2017 | Stock/Ironforge | HW | Unrealistic | 090901 | Cosmic Movement (HS/Rammer) |
| 100 | July 2017 | Anything | Any | Cannon | Apanx | The Final Word (Artbot) |
| 101 | August 2017 | Stock/DSL 2.2/Ironforge | HW | Household Object | Hoppin | The Tanning Bread (Artbot) |
| 102 | September 2017 | Stock/Ironforge | MW/HW | Combat Efficiency | RedAce | No Values (VS/True Pop-up Hybrid) |
| 103 | October 2017 | Anything | Any | Halloween Waifu themed (later overturned to anything) | dragonsteincole | Bone Dragon (Artbot) |
| 104 | November 2017 | Anything | Any | IRL 8-Wheels | dragonsteincole | Super F8 RA2 (Artbot) |
| 105 | December 2017 | Anything | Any | Christmas-themed | dragonsteincole | Paindeer (Artbot) |
| 106 | January 2018 | Anything | Any | Drills | dragonsteincole | Grounder (Artbot) |
| 107 | February 2018 | Anything | Any | Waifu theme | dragonsteincole | Love Bites (Artbot) |
| 108 | March 2018 | Ironforge | HW | None | dragonsteincole | Crab Daddy (HS) |
| 109 | April 2018 | Anything | Any | None | dragonsteincole | Mr Cat's Mouse House (Smother bot) |
| 110 | May 2018 | Anything | Any | Siege machines/Fall of Constantinople | dragonsteincole | Battering Ram and Dave Ballista (Art bot/ Cluster bot) |
| 111 | June 2018 | Ironforge | HW | None | dragonsteincole | Ruckles the Enchilada (Face Spinner/Artbot) } |
| 112 | July 2018 | Stock | HW | Hybrids | Philippa | Glitch (HS/Hammer) |
| 113 | August 2018 | DSL | Any | Prebuilt Chassis | Pwnator | ANGERY (Clamp) |
New BOTM
| # | Month | Mod | Weightclass | AdditionalRestriction(s) | Winner(s) | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 2018 | Unrealistic/DSL-S | Any | None | RedAce | Bloodlines (Juggler) |
| 1 | September 2018 | Replica/Custom | Any | None | Reier | The Stormrunner (Artbot) |
| 1 | September 2018 | IRL | Any | None | Guldenflame | unammed robot (Crusher) |
| 2 | October 2018 | Unrealistic/DSL-S | Any | None | RedAce | Black Widow (Angled Spinner) |
| 2 | October 2018 | Replica/Custom | Any | None | FlamesofIce | Whiplash (BattleBots Replica) |
| 2 | October 2018 | IRL | Any | None | Pokebro14 | F-Mega (Flipper) |
| 3 | November 2018 | Unrealistic/DSL-S | Any | None | RedAce | Virtual Poke-Up (Poker/Popup) |
| 3 | November 2018 | Replica/Custom | Any | None | RedAce | Forb Explorer (Artbot) |
| 3 | November 2018 | IRL-Extenderbot | Any | None | Bildschirm | Rotator (Vertical Spinner) |
| 3 | November 2018 | IRL-Chassisbot | Any | None | Cringey | Astronomical Takeoff (Flipper) |
| 4 | December 2018 | Unrealistic/DSL-S | Any | None | RedAce | FrostBite (Hammer) |
| 4 | December 2018 | IRL-Extenderbot | Any | None | Virus Bomb | The Big Bad Wolf (Vertical Spinner) |
| 4 | December 2018 | IRL-Chassisbot | Any | None | Courthousedoc | Wingspan (Vertical Spinner/Artbot) |
Records
| Rank | User | Wins |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | JoeBlo | 14 |
| 2 | Clickbeetle | 12 |
| 3(tie) | dragonsteincole, NFX, & RedAce | 9 |
Trivia
Between Clickbeetle and JoeBlo's 26 Wins they have won every month at least once except January.
9 Different people have achieved "Back to Back" victories, Clickbeetle being the first to do so in 2009.
JoeBlo, Redline, and dragonsteincole are the only winners to successfully win more than twice in succession (JoeBlo winning 3 in a row in 2010 inculding a shared win with Sage, Redline winning 3 in a row in 2015, and dragonsteincole winning 3 straight in 2017.)
November 2016's BOTM was the first (and so far only one) to win, but not be featured on the front page of Gametechmods. This was possibly due to the crude nature splash and filename.
Dragonsteincole is the only user to win 9 times in a row since October 2017, winning by large margins on most occasions.
As of August 2018 Fracture's win in May 2012 is the oldest win for a user who is currently a normie
The New BOTM currently gives new users more chance to win due to the multiple meta format, with players like Pokebro14, FlamesOfIce, Cringey, and Bildschirm winning a single meta.
Currently, RedAce holds the record for most back to back win in a single meta of the New BOTM, with three wins in Unrealistic/DSL-S currently. He also is the first person to win two times in one month under the new multi-poll system.